The intellectual space we live in follows the European narrative tradition. Its basic elements are books, stories, tales and quotations. Those are what makes us look for some interconnections between facts, grasp key details from the information flow to build up semantic puzzles. Within the existing cultural system, it appears extremely hard to discard this narrative paradigm. We always seek for associations, origin of facts, signs and its meanings whether they are in a text, an oil painting, an internet meme or a hearty chat. Someone's attempt to disown it means the voluntary renunciation of all previous history. Is it ever possible in our circumstances?

Alexey Kanis.Phobos and Deimos

The artworks of Alexey Kanis and Gleb Gavrilenkov that are represented at the show balance between being understood through conventional cultural codes and representing total abstraction. A viewer has a chance to find himself at the point of bifurcation. The one way is to stay at the beaten track and look at the sculptures from the prospective of ancient Greek prototypes. Paintings can be perceived as number of symbols that recall Arabic script or graffiti. One way or another, playing the game we remain inside the narrative tradition.

Gleb Gavrilenkov.Object and subject

Taking another path means to become a foreigner and forget the familiar language. It can be rather hard to do, but worth trying. The liberation is followed by the entrance into some meditative space that is situated on the other side of the rationalised reality. The only way to reach this abstract non-figurative and visionary universes is to overcome the thirst to recognize symbols.

Pieces at the show convey classical images and subjects and, at the same time, appear as portals into the abstract voids of the reality.